People who complained that they never had enough time to read in their lives were handed a prime, if unfortunate opportunity to remedy that with the Coronavirus lockdown. Now, a new social media app looks to unite those eager readers, whether they’re still in quarantine or turning pages where the lockdown is ending.
Book lovers who found prime reading time during COVID-19 can share their thoughts with the new ... [+]
The Carry A Book platform is an online networking community providing an opportunity for book lovers to meet each other virtually during social distancing or out in the world, where allowed. Not intended as a dating app for bibliophiles, the service looks to fire up meaningful and sincere discussions about favorite books or recent reads. While other social media apps and dating sites look to match would-be partners, Carry A Book pairs people only with similar literary preferences.
Upon loading Carry A Book, the user fills out a form on current reads and recent favorite books, along with the given readers geographical location. With that data loaded, the app begins matching the reader with people nearby with similar literary tastes, experiences and preferences.
Once the user receives a regional match, he or she can choose whether to meet up with that new friendly reader by clicking the “Coffee” button — the equivalent of a right swipe in the Tinder or Bumble dating apps. A successful match can connect virtually during the ongoing quarantine, or it can wait until the world opens again. If the user passes on the Coffee opportunity, the match is dismissed.
Bibliophiles isolated by COVID-19 social distancing can connect with their peers with the Carry a ... [+]
The promotional material for Carry a Book repeatedly stresses that the app is not intended for dating opportunities. It’s aimed at devoted readers who want to meet new people in the hope of discussing what they’ve read, debate what they’re reading and discover what they should read next.
Only available for iOS, Carry A Book is a free download from the App Store. There are three paid membership tiers, including: Six months for$35.99, three months for $26.99 and one month for $14.99.
